Why Amazon's Elastic Block Store Matters — On the technical side, Amazon's EBS service may look like “just” another great new feature of the Elastic Compute Cloud, but on the business side it enables a whole slew of new customers. I won't pretend that I understand all the new uses …

Photosynthing the nation's capital — A synth of images of the Lincoln Memorial. Click on the image for a larger view. — (Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News.com) — WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Monday, I got a demo of how Microsoft was opening up Photosynth to consumers. On Wednesday, I put it to the test.

Microsoft demands Xbox LIVE iPhone app to be set free — People seem to really like this App Store thing we keep hearing about, and apps are selling for the iPhone and iPod touch like hot cakes. One too-descriptively-named app, 1337pwn XBOX Live Friends Application (iTunes link) …

Welcome, Freshmen. Have an iPod. — Taking a step that professors may view as a bit counterproductive, some universities are doling out Apple iPhones and Internet-capable iPods to students. — The always-on Internet devices raise some novel possibilities, like tracking where students congregate.

Ten Things I Want On My Mobile Phone — 1) Shazam for places - I blogged about this when I was in Scotland earlier this month. I met a company at TechStars yesterday that might be able to build it. I hope they do. — 2) Shazam for people - same idea. even more possibilities for this one.

12seconds extends its 15 minutes of fame with an API — 12seconds has a goal: It wants to be the go-to platform for video status updates. In order to make a good platform, you need a good application programming interface (API). Today, 12seconds is launching that API and announcing its first three partners.

Web browser to get ‘privacy mode’ — Microsoft is planning a “privacy mode” for the next release of its Internet Explorer (IE) web browser. — By clicking a button, users of IE8 will be able to limit how much information is recorded about where they go online and what they do.

LinkedIn launches an iPhone app, it's simple but it means business — If the iPhone wants to be taken serious as a business device it's going to have to have applications other than More Cowbell (the app that lets you simulate playing a cowbell). A definite must-have for business users is LinkedIn, the professional online network.

A Practical Guide to GPL Compliance — 1 Executive Summary — This is a guide to effective compliance with the GNU General Public License (GPL) and related licenses. In accordance with the Software Freedom Law Center's (SFLC's) philosophy of assisting the community with GPL compliance cooperatively …